Crypto apps are firmly back in demand after two years of decline, with global downloads surging to 495 million in 2024, according to data from the Crypto App Report.
It marks the strongest year the sector has ever recorded and signals a clear return of mainstream interest, driven by renewed trading activity, rising retail participation and a broader recovery across the digital asset market.
Binance was the most downloaded app by a factor of two, while popular derivative trading exchanges Bybit and OKX came second and third in total downloads. Coinbase and Crypto.com were the two most popular crypto exchanges in the United States, and had similar global downloads.
Crypto app downloads 2018 to 2024 (mm)
According to the report, roughly 500 million people now own crypto in some form. Only about 10 percent of those holders actively trade, but that smaller cohort drives the bulk of activity across exchanges. Within that group, Binance dominates: more than half of all active traders use the platform, and it is popular in every region of the world.
As users have returned to crypto, so has total transaction volume, with exchanges processing more than triple the amount seen in 2023. Revenue also reached a new high, although the growth has been less dramatic due to the lower fees associated with derivatives trading compared to spot.
Derivative trading is the more popular way to trade crypto now, while in the last bull run in 2021 spot trading made up the majority of trading on exchanges.
Even with the surge in derivatives trading, spot continues to generate far more revenue, as seen by Coinbase’s $6.2 billion revenue compared to OKX’s $1.9 billion and Bybit’s $1.6 billion. Binance, as the leader in both trading markets, generated the most revenue by far of any exchange, exceeding $16 billion in 2024.
Want to learn more about the crypto app market? Check out our full report.
